LOUIS NEWMAN has been thinking, teaching, and writing about Jewish ideas for over 30 years. One of the country’s leading scholars of Jewish ethics, his most recent book is Repentance: the Meaning and Practice of Teshuvah (Jewish Lights 2010).

Louis Newman is the John M. and Elizabeth W. Musser Professor of Religious Studies, Associate Dean of the College and Director of Advising at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. From 2010-2013 he served as the Humphrey Doermann Professor of Liberal Learning and the Director of the Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching. Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, he received his B.A. in philosophy and Hebrew and his M.A. in philosophy from the University of Minnesota. He received his Ph.D. in Judaic Studies from Brown University and has been teaching at Carleton ever since to great student reviews.

He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Religion, Association for Jewish Studies, and Academy for Jewish Philosophy. He was the first president of the Society of Jewish Ethics, an organization he helped found. He has also been actively involved in the educational programs of several community organizations. He serves on the International Council of the New Israel Fund. He served as president of the board of directors of the St. Paul Talmud Torah from 1994-96, and as president of the board of Beth Jacob Congregation (Conservative) from 2009-11.

He also serves as a consultant on issues of learning and teaching in higher education. A faculty member for nearly thirty years and the former Director of the Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching at Carleton, he brings a wealth of experience to discussions of pedagogy, curricular innovation, institutional change and faculty development.

Louis Newman is married to Rabbi Amy Eilberg. Together they have three children with whom he loves to travel. He still gets his fingers dirty reading the New York Times print edition every morning.